Purple Dot International: Warehousing, Office Space, Residential and Commercial Projects in Kenya

Interview with Jiten Kerai, General Manager at Purple Dot International

Could you give some background on Purple Dot?

Purple Dot International specializes in industrial warehouse and residential projects, as well as commercial space. We started in 2017 and we have had a lot of success. The challenge is the current state of the market, which we study so that we can move ahead with new projects. One of our main upcoming projects is in the South Sea area on Mombasa Road in Nairobi, where we are building a ground plus 14-floor office space with showrooms and FnB (food and beverage) space. It is a ‘green building’ concept, and we have planned it well in terms of space, parking and openness. The grade A office building itself is called Purple Tower and is the first project of its kind in Kenya. Originally, we built individual projects and we did not have partners, but we then established Purple Dot, which was formed by a group of eight friends. We have built around 400 warehouses up to now as there has been a big demand for them since 2017, and then in 2019/2020, we started looking at residential projects as well. There were a lot of other projects being built at the time, but we wanted ours to focus on quality.

Could you give an overview of your ongoing projects? What are the latest news?

As far as our upcoming projects are concerned, we are putting more focus on warehouse sites because that was our main focus when we started the company. Good quality warehouses at good prices. We are planning to build 200 or more warehouses and are also working on commercial office blocks and an industrial park. In terms of residential, we are looking towards the Langata area where we are working on a project called Amerigo, and once we complete that, we still have other projects in the pipeline.

Who are these projects targeted at?

For the residential projects in Langata you are looking at a price of around 30 million Kenyan shillings. Our apartments are not aimed at the high end, yet in terms of the quality that we are providing, we are not overpriced. Right now in Kenya, mortgage finance companies are very strong in giving loans for affordable housing, but the way the market is moving, they are also being flexible by supporting the middle class. During the pandemic, there was more of a risk because projects were being slowed and were not moving as well, but now the mortgage market is picking up.

What are the trends in the real estate sector in Kenya, and how is Purple Dot positioned?

There is a lot of competition. Let’s say you have a residential or commercial office project; you have to study the market very hard because there are other developers who are competing with you and putting new designs into the market. Our focus at the moment is to bring new ideas and new design concepts so that we can stay visible in the market. Your projects have to have some uniqueness. Overall, in the last two years the real estate industry in Kenya was slow and now it is moving well.

Do you still want to establish a presence in East Africa based on your previous plans for Kampala in Uganda?

We wanted to spread out about two years ago, but the pandemic forced us to put a hold on that. Now that we have new projects going on in Kenya, we want to keep our focus on those and once we are halfway through completing them, we will start surveying the East African region to come up with new projects for that area. At the moment, we are limited to Nairobi, so we are looking at towns like Mombasa and Machakos, and from there, we also plan to do projects in Kisumu. Once we get at least one project outside of Nairobi, hopefully by next year or within a few years, we are also planning to move out towards Kampala.

What are your aspirations for the next three years?

We want to achieve so many things with industrial and commercial sites. If we have success with our commercial office block on Mombasa Road, we will look at doing more work in the commercial space which will involve building in the market for a good price and good returns as well. The office industry in Kenya is moving better now because during the pandemic, everyone started working from home and people were not utilizing office space. But we see that there will be more of a demand for office space in the next two or three years. Working from home is not good for some people because they need more space where they can be alone to think and there are too many distractions at home. It is better to have a good office space where you can work and meet your plans.

They key thing that we want to implement in all of our projects for the next three to four years is for them to be eco-friendly whether it is residential, commercial or industrial. We want them to have some green energy and involve a green building concept. In Kenya, especially in the industrial market, no one is focused on a green building concept on a warehouse site and that is where we want to go. And the same is true for the residential market where I have not seen a project with a green building certification.

Are there any specific success stories since the company’s inception?

So far, our proudest moment is that during the pandemic we have done quite well. Purple Dot does not want to be quiet in the market, we still want to come up with a lot of projects.

Do you use concrete only, or do you use other building materials?

We have a team that recommends the best materials to suit particular projects, and ones that do not harm the environment, but we still use concrete for up to 60% or 70% of our projects.

What inspires you to do what you do?

The group of eight friends who formed this company are all from the same part of India and when they came to Kenya, they had their own separate companies and their own skills, so we utilized those skills to develop the company. I am the son of one of the eight directors, and they wanted a full-time person who had a strong focus on the real estate side of things and could manage the business. When I joined, I wanted to be part of the team to help the company grow bigger and bigger. Our structure is slightly different. We are not a developer, and we can say we are not a constructor. We have merged our expertise. We still do construction in-house, and our designs are done in-house. 50% to 60% of the projects we sell in-house as well, through our referrals or through our investors. So, in terms of giving a quality product, the team itself invests in it. As a Purple Dot team, we are investing our money in it.

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